About Mathesar Leesma

As a boy growing up in Nals (the 11th largest city on Midgar), Mathesar had always dreamed of this moment, standing on the bridge of a starship, preparing to head out into the unknown to meet strange new races. Granted, in his childhood dreams he was almost always The Captain, or at least a department head, but his years in school, first at the University of Nals (a school renown for anthropology and geography), and later at a prestigious CSA academy have taught him that to even have come this far is a great accomplishment.

He is the very picture of an eager young recruit, willing to do any of the menial or dangerous tasks assigned him with a salute and a chipper “aye, aye, sir”. He hopes one day to master atmatics well enough to be promoted – those First Contact Specialists who can both understand and speak any language atmatically get the first crack at any alien race the Avanestra encounters.

Although his fellow ensigns sometimes kid him about the Captain Proton and Robur the Conquerer posters on his bunk or about his habit of quoting obscure plays in their original languages, they will readilly admit that he seems to succeed at almost anything he sets his mind to, whether impersonating a professor at the Academy, solving complex problems in a variety of fields, or romancing a Kajiiatan. The gamesters amongst them would give you 7:2 odds that he'll be the first ensign of the Avanestra to be seen with "some green alien coquette on his arm".

He devotes an hour of his free time each day to rehearsing what he would do if faced with the various challenges alien contact might entail - extreme hot or cold, underwater, high or low air pressure, non-verbal communication, and so forth. This typically includes placing himself in such extreme environments and then solving some sort of language-related puzzle given to him by a fellow ensign or former professor. His current list of things he needs to overcome includes speaking underwater, seeing in total darkness, and conversing via scent.

Once per day, a Rhaelian can roll twice when making a Bluff or Diplomacy check and take the better roll.

LORE MASTER: You may take 20 on Knowledge checks 1 times per day.

ALCHEMY: An alchemist can create three special types of magical items—extracts, bombs, and mutagens. When using Craft (alchemy) to create an alchemical item, gain a +3 competence bonus on the Craft (alchemy) check. In addition, an alchemist can use Craft (alchemy) to identify potions as if using detect magic. He must hold the potion for 1 round to make such a check.

BARDIC KNOWLEDGE: You add +1 to all Knowledge skill checks and may make such checks untrained.

BARDIC PERFORMANCE: Use the Perform skill to create magical effects for 12 rounds. Standard action to start, a free action each round to maintain. Only one performance at a time. The targets must be able to perceive the performance. A deaf bard fails audible performances 20% of the time, blindness causes visual performance failure 50% of the time. Failed checks count against round limit.

Countersong (Su): Counters magical effects that depend on sound within 30 ft. Creatures use the bard’s Perform check result in place of its saving throw each round countersong is active.

Distraction (Su): Counters magical effects that depend on sight within 30 ft. Creatures use the bard’s Perform check result in place of its saving throw each round countersong is active.

Fascinate (Sp): Up to 1 creatures within 30 ft able to see and hear the bard, and able to pay attention to him (i.e., in no danger). The bard must also be able to see the creature. The creature makes a Will save vs. DC 15. If a creature succeeds, it immune for 24 hours. If it fails, the creature sits quietly and listens, for as long as the bard continues to play and concentrate (up to bard’s level in rounds) and takes -4 on skill checks like Perception.

Naturalist (Ex): After you identify a creature with a knowledge check, you can use performance and you and any allies within 30 ft gain a +1 insight bonus to AC and on attack rolls and saving throws against exceptional, supernatural, and spell-like abilities used by creatures of that specific kind of monster.

Inspire Competence (Su): A bard of 3rd level or higher can use his performance to help an ally succeed at a task. That ally must be within 30 feet and be able to hear the bard. The ally gets a +2 competence bonus on skill checks with a particular skill as long as she continues to hear the bard's performance. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels the bard has attained beyond 3rd (+3 at 7th, +4 at 11th, +5 at 15th, and +6 at 19th). Certain uses of this ability are infeasible, such as Stealth, and may be disallowed at the GM's discretion. A bard can't inspire competence in himself. Inspire competence relies on audible components.

BREATH MASTERY: You can control your breath and the flow of vital energy within your body. Without preparation, you can hold his breath for 14 minutes, after this you must begin making Constitution checks or risk suffocation. By spending a full-round action preparing yourself, you can increase this duration to 14 hours rather than minutes.

COGNATOGEN: The alchemist gains the ability to create a cognatogen, a mutagen-like mixture that heightens one mental ability score at the expense of a physical ability score. If the cognatogen enhances his Intelligence, it applies a penalty to his Strength. If it enhances his Wisdom, it applies a penalty to his Dexterity. If it enhances his Charisma, it applies a penalty to his Constitution. Otherwise, this ability works just like the mutagen ability (+2 natural armor bonus, a +4 alchemical bonus to the selected ability score, and a –2 penalty to the physical ability score for 10 minutes per alchemist level). Anytime the alchemist would prepare a mutagen, he may instead prepare a cognatogen. All limitations of mutagens apply to cognatogens as if they were the same substance—an alchemist can only maintain one mutagen or cognatogen at a time, a cognatogen that is not in an alchemist’s possession becomes inert, drinking a cognatogen makes a non-alchemist sick, and so on. When the effect of the cognatogen ends, the alchemist takes 2 points of ability damage to the ability score penalized by the cognatogen. The infuse mutagen discovery and the persistent mutagen class ability apply to cognatogens.

DISCOVERIES:
Infusion: When the alchemist creates an extract, he can infuse it with an extra bit of his own magical power. The extract created now persists even after the alchemist sets it down. As long as the extract exists, it continues to occupy one of the alchemist’s daily extract slots. An infused extract can be imbibed by a non-alchemist to gain its effects.
Smoke Bomb: When the alchemist creates a bomb, he can choose to have it create a cloud of thick smoke when it detonates. The cloud functions as fog cloud, filling an area equal to twice the bomb’s splash radius for 1 round per level.

MAGIC LORE: You gain +1 on Spellcraft to identify magic items or decipher scrolls and may take 10 on such checks. You can use Disable Device to disarm magical traps. You gain +4 on saves against magical traps, language dependent effects, and symbols, glyphs and magical writings of any kind.

PERFECT RECALL: You have honed your memory. When making a Knowledge check, he may add his Intelligence bonus on the check a second time. Thus, a mindchemist with 5 ranks in Knowledge (history) and a +2 Intelligence bonus has a total skill bonus of +9 (5 + 2 + 2) using this ability. The mindchemist can also use this ability when making an Intelligence check to remember something.

POISON RESISTANCE: An alchemist gains a +2 bonus on all saving throws against poison.

Disease Resistance: At 3rd level, an internal alchemist gains a bonus on all saving throws against disease equal to his alchemist class bonus against poison.